Multimedia & graphics Software

The Bottom Line: A majority of home users will appreciate Corel Digital Studio's feature set, its interactive projects, and wide support for photo and video formats.

Specs: Complete package, Intel Core Duo, AMD Athlon, Intel Core Duo, AMD Athlon

The Bottom Line: Despite some compatibility setbacks, Corel Home Office suite is useful for creating documents. Its conscientious size, small-screen optimizations, and attractive price make it a good buy for a Netbook office suite, or for saving space by shedding advanced features.

Specs: 1 user, 1 GHz, USB drive, Mouse or tablet, 1 GHz

The Bottom Line: Apple iLife '09 is a great application suite for simple media organizing and editing, and the addition of features like face recognition, geotagging, and music lessons makes it worth the update.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Apple MacOS X 10.5.6 or later, Intel PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5 (867MHz or faster) 867 MHz, Intel Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster), DVD-ROM, Intel PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5 (867MHz or faster), Intel Power Mac G5 (dual 2.0GHz or faster), iMac G5 (1.9GHz or faster), 867 MHz, MacOS, QuickTime 7.5.5 or later

The Bottom Line: The CS4 Master Collection contains every application in the Adobe Creative Suite. Although priced for serious professionals, it's a relative bargain compared with buying each ingredient piecemeal.

Specs: DVD-ROM, Internet connection, OpenGL compatible graphics card, 2 GHz or faster for DV, 3.4 GHz for HDV, Dual 2.8 GHz for HD (Windows), Intel Multicore (Mac), 2 GHz, Windows, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, QuickTime 7.4.5

The Bottom Line: Adobe CS4 Design Premium contains nearly every tool for editing digital images and layouts for print and the Web, as well as for crafting interactive animation and desktop apps. If you don't need video editing, pick this over the Master Collection and save $700.

Specs: DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Internet connection, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), PowerPC G5, Intel multicore (Mac), 2 GHz, Windows, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1

The Bottom Line: Adobe CS4 Web Premium is a good deal for interactive designers who don't need tools for video editing and sophisticated print layouts.

Specs: DVD-ROM, 64MB video memory, Internet connection, 1280 x 900 monitor resolution, DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics card, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), PowerPC G5, Intel multicore (Mac), 2 GHz, Windows, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, QuickTime 7.4.5

The Bottom Line: Adobe CS4 Design Standard serves designers who edit digital images and layouts for print, but many will find Design Premium a better deal for bundling the interactive potential of Flash, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks for $400 more.

Specs: DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Internet connection, DirectX 9.0 compatible graphics card, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), IntelPowerPC G5, Intel Multicore (Mac), 2 GHz, Windows, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, QuickTime 7.4.5

The Bottom Line: Adobe CS4 Web Standard serves interactive designers who don't have to edit images, but many will find Web Premium a better deal for bundling Photoshop and Illustrator for $500 more.

Specs: DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Internet connection, 1 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore, PowerPC G5 (Mac), 1 GHz, Windows, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, QuickTime 7.4.5

The Bottom Line: While Adobe Illustrator CS4's most compelling new feature--pseudo-multipage support--can be frustrating to use, overall it makes CS4 a worthwhile upgrade for current users.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), PowerPC G4 1 GHz, PowerPC G5, Intel multicore (Mac), DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, 2 GHz or faster (Windows), PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel multicore (Mac), 1 GHz, Windows

The Bottom Line: If you work with 3D, Photoshop Extended is a must-have upgrade; ditto if you think you'd use more of Standard's tools if the interface were less opaque, if you need to upgrade other suite applications, or if you qualify for an academic discount. All things considered, while Adobe Photoshop CS4 makes some improvements over CS3, it might be worth skipping this generation and waiting for the next.

Specs: 1 user, Complete package, Microsoft Windows XP SP2 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise SP1, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 1.8 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore 1.8 GHz, PowerPC G5 (Mac), DVD-ROM, XGA monitor, Internet connection, 1.8 GHz or faster (Windows), Intel Multicore, PowerPC G5 (Mac), 1.8 GHz, Windows, OpenGL